The Stakes: EPA suspends North Richmond grant for a second time, putting $19 million project in limbo

“The Stakes” is a UC Berkeley Journalism project on executive orders affecting Californians and their communities. 

Sometime since Friday, when Contra Costa County officials last checked on an anticipated grant for North Richmond, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency suspended the promised $19 million, marking the second time the grant has been put on hold since President Donald Trump tried to freeze federal grants in January.

The suspension throws into question several community development projects to improve the environment, health and overall quality of life in North Richmond.

“This is really about hurting the people and community of North Richmond,” Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia said. “That’s what this is.” 

Michael Brogan, EPA Region 9 press officer, said Monday that the agency could not immediately respond to Richmond Confidential’s questions about whether the grant is among the many being pulled by the EPA. He directed Richmond Confidential to USA Spending, the official open data source of federal awards such as contracts, grants, and loans.

On Monday, the database listed the county’s grant as “in progress,” with two years and 10 months remaining, and indicated that the grant started Feb. 1. But Gioia said the portal through which funds are disbursed indicates the grant has been suspended. And while the county was able to withdraw $30,000 of grant money last week to cover staff time incurred so far for the project, it was unable to access additional funds Monday. 

Gioia said it’s been challenging for the county to get a definitive answer about the grant. “I think we are in for a future of uncertainty on federal funding issues generally,” he said. 

The North Richmond Community Resilience Initiative is among 105 projects awarded grants through the Inflation Reduction Act late last year. The grants to local communities totaled nearly $1.6 billion and were said to be the largest investment in environmental and climate justice in history.

The county has received no information about why the grant was suspended again, Gioia said. It was first suspended for a couple of weeks shortly after Trump took office and announced he was freezing all federal grants. It remained suspended even after two federal judges issued temporary injunctions to keep the money flowing. 

Around Feb. 21, Contra Costa County officials noticed that the North Richmond grant’s status had changed from suspended to “open.” Through all the changes, they said they had no communication with the EPA. Last week, county officials were optimistic when they were able to access the grant portal — the grant is set up to reimburse money spent upfront by the county.

But within days, the portal closed again. 

Two EPA employees were assigned to manage the grants, but Gioia said he heard that one was reassigned and the other was laid off.  

“As of right now, the county doesn’t have anyone to go to about this,” he said.

‘Working hand-in-hand with DOGE’

On the EPA website, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin boasts of the savings the agency has made by working with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, noting it has cut more than 400 grants in the past few weeks.

“Working hand-in-hand with DOGE to rein in wasteful federal spending, EPA has saved more than $2 billion in taxpayer money,” Zeldin said in a news release Monday. “It is our commitment at EPA to be exceptional stewards of tax dollars.”

Contra Costa County applied for the Community Change Grant Program in September with organizations such as Urban Tilth, The Watershed Project, and the Richmond Land and Community Housing Development Corp. The grant is  for a host of community projects including planting trees in the Verde Elementary schoolyard, providing an e-bike lending library, and restoring the Wildcat Creek watershed and trail. 

Additionally, the initiative would support the construction of energy-efficient housing, the retrofitting of 40 homes to be fully electric, and the creation of a community resilience center at the North Richmond Farm.

“We put a lot of work into applying and getting this grant for the benefit of North Richmond residents,” Gioia said. “So I think it would be quite unfortunate to lose the ability to improve the life of North Richmond residents through this grant.”

(Top photo by Marion Apio.)

This story was published in collaboration with Richmondside.

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The Stakes: Excitement turns to anxiety in North Richmond after Trump moves to freeze big EPA grant